Free Beginner Piano Lessons: Start Here!

Have you always dreamed of playing the piano but never knew where to start? Even if you’ve played before, you may have wondered if it’s possible to start over.

In either case, I have the perfect resource for you!

The best part of this resource is that it includes a series of free beginner piano lessons and exercises that will actually result in you learning how to read music. I also have plenty of tips and instruction for you. Let me help you get a great start in your exploration of this wonderful instrument!

Don’t be a “Forever Beginner”

When it comes to learning to play piano, it’s important to pick a path that actually leads out of the beginner phase (many do not). In fact, there are so many different possible paths that many pianists often end up doing a little bit of everything and don’t really end up getting anywhere. Believe it or not, it’s possible to play piano for many years and still be a beginner!

While it’s perfectly acceptable to be a beginner, you really want to exit this phase as soon as you can. Trust me when I say that you don’t want to become a forever beginner because all of the music that you care about will always remain just out of reach. Additionally, many folks who are in this situation are often just reinforcing their bad habits rather than actually improving their piano skills.

In this post, I’m gonna give you a couple of things that you should be thinking about as you prepare to study this amazing instrument. After you read this post, you are welcome to start my free note-reading course to officially begin your piano study.

Common Mistakes to Avoid as a Beginner

As with any new skill, beginners are bound to make mistakes when learning the piano. With that said, some mistakes are essential to avoid, as our brains are “always on record” and we can easily end up with bad habits instead of good ones.

Here’s a quick rundown of things you should do your best to avoid as a beginner:

1. Playing without counting or understanding rhythm: This is probably the biggest mistake to avoid, as it leads to so many others. It is essential to approach music in a “rhythm first” mentality. This is one of the reasons that I teach students to count before I teach them to play.

2. Trying to play pieces without being able to recognize notes quickly: If you can’t instantly recognize the notes in a piece, the learning process will take forever, and you’ll experience very little music as a result. Not to worry…I have a solution for this!

3. Playing too fast: This is another very common pitfall. Slow practice leads to ease which is necessary for graceful and reliable playing. You would think that beginners would generally play the slowest. However, beginners often have great difficulty playing below a certain tempo, which is where a lot of the problem comes from. Using a metronome and subdivided counting (splitting up beats into sub beats) can really help here.

4. Playing with no motion in the wrists: If your wrists have no mobility, you can’t really play with arm weight. This is one of the biggest things that makes you “sound like a beginner” and it also will prevent you from leaving the beginner phase. I have a few different approaches that can help you avoid this.

5. Playing music that is too difficult: The vast majority of students (even those studying with teachers) spend too much time learning music that beyond their abilities. In order to develop solid reading skills (which enables you to play difficult music later on), you must experience a large quantity of material that you can actually understand and play well. This results in good sight reading skills which leads to many other good things!

There are so many pitfalls to avoid, it’s no wonder why so many find piano study to be overwhelming and confusing. However, it doesn’t have to be this way!

Understanding Piano Basics: Notes & Rhythm Come First

If your goal is to eventually play classical music or read sheet music well, it’s best to pick a path that involves lots of practice with reading music. My approach is to start working on your reading skills before you even touch a piano!

There are many different skills that fall under the umbrella of reading such as note recognition, interval recognition, counting, and so on. It’s far more difficult to learn these things while also thinking about piano technique and musical interpretation.

At the end of this article I’m going to link to my free note-reading course, which is the first step that literally everybody who wants to learn to read music and play the piano should take.

However, it doesn’t stop there! Once you complete the reading course, you’ll be ready for entry level piano pieces and exercises, and I have a classical piano program that guides you through all of this as well.

What Happens after I Finish the Note-Reading Course?

After the free course, you’ll have an opportunity to join my classical piano program, which involves a whole network of courses that are linked together to form your practice routine and instruction. By this point, you would have experienced several hours of my teaching and methods, and you should have a good sense of how I might be able to help you.

One of the really special things about my program is that I have a dedicated space for students to share recordings with me. This feature separates my program from the rest because it includes support that is specific to each student.

I’ll be here the whole time to guide you, answer your questions, and evaluate your recordings. Even in my free course, you can still ask me questions and get some assistance along the way.

Are There Easy Piano Pieces for Me to Learn?

After the free note-reading course, I’ll introduce you to a variety of easy piano pieces, all arranged in order of difficulty (and divided according to level). One of the best things about this collection of music is that it starts at a really low level.

For the first ten pieces, we will explore simple rhythms and positions…nothing too complicated for a beginner. This music is included as part of my classical piano program, which you are welcome to join at any time (preferably after you finish the note-reading course).

For now, use the free course to prepare yourself to study easy piano pieces by becoming comfortable with note recognition and the basics of counting rhythms.

What about Keys and Scales?

As a beginner, you don’t really need to worry about keys and scales just yet. My piano method (as well as most other methods) start out by using pieces and exercises that are situated on the white keys of the piano.

This enables you to concentrate on the basics. At the right time, I will introduce you to the various positions of the piano, which do include black keys (which you’ll experience as “sharps” and “flats).

We will then focus on pentascales, which are miniature versions of full scales. This will help you become fully accustomed to the different positions and form the initial basis for understanding the concept of keys.

Later on, when we are far enough in our study, I will help you begin to practice your scales (as well as arpeggios and other key-based exercises).

What are Essential Techniques for Beginners?

There are countless techniques for piano beginners to learn. However, many can be learned over time. In order to avoid the “forever beginner” problem, piano students should start by learning to relax their wrist and arm while they play.

Playing with wrist mobility is one of the most essential of all techniques!

If you hold your arm and hand straight out, and then relax your hand, your hand should droop down. I refer to this as the “disengaging of the wrist”. It’s absolutely essential that piano students learn how to disengage (and engage) their wrist while they play.

We talk about this in detail in the beginning of my classical piano program. This is such an important topic that I revisit it several times. We talk about it in piece tutorials, in exercise tutorials, and in dedicated lessons that deal with the wrist. Again, more on this another time.

The Power of Isolated Study

My free course is completely designed to help you isolate and drill essential skills. This helps to build your skills as fast and efficiently as possible. For those with no prior musical experience, you can expect my free course to take up to a few weeks.

This means that you can go from not knowing anything about music at all to being able to count and instantly recognize any note on the staff. You would effectively be a music reader at this point, which is pretty exciting!

This can all be attributed to the power of isolated study. When you practice identifying notes, you won’t be practicing rhythm (at least, not yet). While you learn the basics of rhythm, you won’t also be trying to play and read at the same time.

The benefits of isolation in your practice will be worthwhile even at the advanced level, where it becomes crucial for you to practice in tiny fragments in order to assemble a musical passage. As you continue on in your piano training, this is a very important concept to remember!

How to Set Up Your Practice Routine

Learning how to set up your practice routine is another essential skill for any musician. You have to find a compromise between the amount of things that you practice and the depth that you can study each thing. This depends on the amount of time you have available as well as your ability to mange your time.

While you are in the pre-reading phase, you might consider rotating through a few different kinds of reading drills, spending a few minutes on each one each day. However, once you begin actually playing the piano, your practice sessions can divided into a few key categories:

1. Technical Skills

2. Sight Reading

3. Piano Repertoire

4. Piano Etudes & Studies

Each category helps you isolate and practice various skills. Many piano teachers traditionally use a similar approach when it comes to practicing.

Note that you do not have to divide your practice time equally across these categories. For example, most pianists tend to spend the majority of their time learning piano repertoire. However, it’s very important to keep up with the other categories as well.

Start Your Free Online Piano Lessons Today!

In my program, I train you how to read music first, and I do this totally for free. By the time that you’re finished with the course, you’ll be able to instantly recognize any of the notes on the staff, and you’ll be able to count and begin your study of piano using actual sheet music.

You’ll appreciate the fact that you drilled these skills in advance because you’ll be able to learn music quickly without struggling to read it!

Literally thousands of students have successfully taken this course and started out strong in their piano journey. This is your chance to do the same! Did I mention that it’s free? Whenever you are ready, click below to sign up!